Antitrust

Competition law is growing in importance, and moving up the agenda of both domestic and European regulators. A greater number of transactions, commercial agreements and business practices that impact on competition are subject to complex rules.

In Europe, it is no longer possible to notify the regulator of commercial practices that could impact on competition. Businesses must self-assess competition compliance, balancing commercial gain with regulatory risk in all relationships with competitors, suppliers and customers. The wrong assessment can mean severe penalties for both individuals and organisations.

We can advise on business strategy, commercial agreements and competitive conduct, and on how to protect you and your business against competition law violation by third parties.

We have particular expertise in distribution and other vertical arrangements, intellectual property and competition law, joint venture competition compliance, pricing matters, consortia or trade association participation, abuse of dominance and the application of competition law. Our knowledge of these legal specialisms is further complemented by in-depth knowledge of particular industries including life sciences, sports, energy, retail, telecoms, IT and media.

Our experience includes reviewing business strategy and key agreements to determine any competition law liability, and advising on the best approach to minimise such risks. We advise on various forms of vertical arrangements, including distribution, licensing and franchising, and particular issues of concern such as internet selling, non-compete provisions and parallel import restrictions. We advise on the appropriate structure for distribution networks in Europe to ensure that they fall within the application of the block exemption, on motor vehicle and technology transfer agreements, establishing compliance programmes and providing on-going compliance training across Europe, and on pricing strategy.

We help our clients on abuse of dominance issues, including defending claims against clients and advising on the possibility of claiming abuse of dominance to enhance bargaining power, and on ensuring that collaborative activities are compliant with competition law.